Southern States
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Karnataka-Bangalore
Survey finds goitre endemic in 4 dists.
By Our Staff Reporter
BANGALORE
FEB. 2.
Goitre, arising out of iodine deficiency, is endemic in four districts in the State — Chikmagalur, Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, and Uttara Kannada, according to the status report on the National Iodine Deficiency Disorder Control Programme (NIDDCP) undertaken by the Bureau of Nutrition, Directorate of Health and Family Welfare Services.
The State Health Directorate took up the programme during 1988-89 as a 100 per cent centrally-sponsored scheme. The main objectives were to map the areas where goitre was endemic by conducting a survey, supply iodised salt in those areas, and conduct another survey after five years to assess the impact of the programme.
The initial survey covered 2.37 lakh individuals. Goitre was identified as endemic in the aforementioned districts, while Chitradurga reported the lowest percentage of goitre cases.
In Chikmagalur, the survey covered five villages with a population of 3,196. Of them, 1,314 people — 41.11 per cent of the population — had goitre. In Kodagu District, 1,069 people of the 4,623 people covered in six villages — 23.12 per cent — had goitre.
In Dakshina Kannada, 15,644 people in 17 villages were covered under the programme. Of them, 2,219 people constituting 14.18 per cent of the population were found to be suffering from goitre. The percentages in other districts were: Shimoga (6.9), Bidar (5.37), Gulbarga (4.85), Bijapur (4.6), Kolar (2.97), Belgaum (2.53), Tumkur (2.23), Hassan (2.04), Raichur (1.94), 4 Bangalore Rural (1.79), Bangalore Urban (1.73), Mysore (1.62), Dharwad (1.57), Mandya (1.20), Bellary (1), and Chitradurga (0.99).
During August 1991, a team of officials from the Centre conducted a survey in six taluks in Shimoga District and five taluks in Uttara Kannada District. The survey revealed that 27.32 and 23.98 per cent of the population in the two districts, respectively, had goitre.
The survey of 16,895 schoolchildren in Bangalore city revealed that 30.99 per cent of them had goitre. The survey said nearly 3.16 lakh tonnes of salt was required by the State annually.
The status report said the availability of iodised salt was being monitored through field visits.
The Centre had taken up a situation analysis in Chikmagalur in August 1994 and found that 80 per cent of the retail outlets were selling iodised salt.
During 1994, 113 wholesale and retail outlets in 28 villages of Kodagu District were surveyed. It revealed that 78 per cent of the outlets were selling only iodised salt, 15 per cent of them were selling both iodised and non-iodised salts, and only 7 per cent of the outlets were selling non-iodised salt.
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